2019 shortlisted story
Trick of the Eye - Louise Harnby ‘Maybe they bricked it up and skimmed it but it was there.’ Laura Hughes swears there was a door but I’m looking at concrete. On the other side is a room that never sleeps. The call centre runs twenty-four...
2019 shortlisted story
Slipher’s Rail - Sherry Rankin One summer in Arkansas, I fell in love with my cousin. When I first told Marta, she said, “How original” in that dry, measured tone of hers. “That’s a disgusting stereotype with absolutely no basis in...
2018 winning story
The Value of Vermin Control - Russell Day I took my hat off and cleared my throat. The young man behind the armour glass and the steel bars didn’t look up, even though I was his only customer. I wasn’t especially surprised. In my experience, p...
2017 winning story
Box Clever - Sam Hepburn I’ve always been a dreamer – the nerdy kid hunched over his Playstation dreaming of being popular, the geeky teenager in sweaty boxers dreaming of hitting the big time with his latest bit of software, the broke student...
2016 winning story
A Box-Shaped Mystery - Peter Guttridge ‘The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.’ Margery Allingham P...
2016 shortlisted story
The Blockage - Ian Cowmeadow Fine drops of rain bloomed on the van’s windscreen. The engine clicked as the heat drifted from it and Shelly Wrench was beginning to feel the cold. Across the street, a strip light flickered behind a frosted window ...
2015 winning story
Game Over - Lesley Mace The feel of the skateboard rumbles up through the bones of his feet. He is enclosed within the sound of wheels. He concentrates on contracting muscles, on making his body into the correct shape to fly over the top of the co...
Bookshop of the Month – April 2022: Reading Matters
Debut Dagger Writing Tips
Here are tips from recent newsletters compiled for you by Dea Parkin, the CWA’s Competitions Coordinator (and professional editor). If you’re at the stage where your entry is finished and you’re into the all-important revision and editing pr...
Criminal Critiques
What are Criminal Critiques? Criminal Critiques is the CWA’s critique service for aspiring crime fiction writers, to help you polish your writing and prepare your manuscript for submission to agents and publishers, or for competitions such as the ...
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